By Joao Cunha
Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a brilliant header against Chelsea in the 2008 Champions League Final. Manchester United went on to win the game on penalties.
There are 3 underlying narratives that have dogged Cristiano Ronaldo throughout his career. No matter how utterly untrue they have proved to be, his critics point out these 3 things every time he struggles.
- He is selfish
- He doesn’t score in big games, he’s a flat-track bully.
- He only puts up stats, but he doesn’t make his teams better.
These unwarranted critiques have never gone away despite Ronaldo’s rise to being one of the greatest players of all time. The selfish label is based on his attitude which can come across as arrogant yet has nothing to do with how he plays on the pitch. His theatrical behavior can put him in a bad light at times but again it is not compatible with their nitpicking of his game. This becomes more problematic over the last few years where Ronaldo has become a better leader on and off the pitch. His defense of Benzema against critics at Real Madrid has been admirable, telling fans not to boo the struggling striker. He even gave up chance at his 50th hat-trick by allowing Benzema to take a penalty to help Benzema increase his confidence. After his injury in the final of Euro 2016 he still put his teammates firs and supported the team instead of sulking. He put his own personal pain below that of the team and yet some still question his attitude. Despite the noisy critics these 3 common stereotypes of Ronaldo can be dispelled quickly just by looking at his otherworldly Champions League performances.
Let’s start off with the selfish accusation, which is the oldest critique of CR7 throughout his career. It is one borne out of his attitude early on his career and something that is not backed by stats or facts. Especially when it comes to the Champions League. Cristiano Ronaldo has 38 assists in the Champions League which is more than Ryan Giggs and Lionel Messi. Despite the selfish label he is the record holder in assists in the history of the Champions League. In fact in 2016-17 campaign he had 5 assists for Real Madrid to go with his 12 goals. He consistently gets assists for Real Madrid despite the narrative that he is a “selfish player”.
Karim Benzema scored his second goal against Malmo after a great cross from Cristiano Ronaldo. The pair of teammates combined for 7 goals that night as Real Madrid defeated Malmo 8-0 in the Champions League group stage game in 2015.
The second narrative of Ronaldo not being a “big-game” player has been proven wrong since 2008. Yet there are those who persist in bringing it up whenever he has a bad game in a big spot, which is not common. In fact Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a record of 57 goals in the Champions League knockout stage which is a record. In the last 43 knockout stage games since 2011, Ronaldo has scored a staggering 46 goals!!! While adding 10 assists in that great scoring streak. In total in the last 41 knockout games Ronaldo has contributed 56 goals with his scoring and passing ability. These stats are already unreal when you consider normal games, but these games are much more significance and involve truly great sides. These are his stats involving the big sides he faced in the Champions League.
Stats are since 2006/07 when Ronaldo became a world-class player
Bayern Munich: 6 games 9 goals 1 assist
Juventus: 5 games 7 goals 1 assist
Atletico Madrid: 6 games 4 goals 2 assists
Roma: 8 games 5 goals 2 assists
Paris Saint-Germain: 4 games 3 goals 1 assist
Inter Milan: 2 games 1 goal
AC Milan 4 games 1 goal 1 assist
Dortmund: 8 games 7 goals 1 assist
Arsenal: 2 games 2 goals 1 assist
Tottenham: 4 games 4 goals
Liverpool: 2 games 1 goal
Manchester City: 3 games 1 goal
Chelsea: 1 game 1 goal
Manchester United: 2 games 2 goals
Wolfsburg: 2 games 3 goals
Schalke: 4 games 7 goals 3 assists
FC Porto: 2 games 1 goal
Galatasaray: 3 games 6 goals 1 assist
CSKA Moscow: 2 games 3 goals
Lyon: 8 games 4 goals 3 assists
Ajax: 5 games 6 goals 2 assist
Shaktar Dontesk 2 games 5 goals 2 assists
Napoli: 2 games 0 goals 2 assists
Barcelona 5 games 0 goals 0 assists
The only truly big sides that has had his number in the Champions League has been Barcelona. (But only in the Champions League as he has scored 17 times against the Catalans in domestic competitions) But other than that he has consistently performed against all the big sides in Europe’s top competition. Next I will break down his stats in knockout games since 2006-07 per round.
Round of 16: 22 games 20 goals 10 assists
Quarter-finals: 19 games 20 goals 2 assists
Semi-finals: 19 games 13 goals 2 assists
Final: 5 games 4 goals 1 assist
Total record: 75 games 57 goals 15 assists
The remarkable thing about the stats is that it doesn’t decrease dramatically per round. He has almost identical numbers from the round of 16 and quarter-finals and has netted in 3 different Champions League finals. He contributes nearly a goal per knockout game for over a decade, which is just absurd. These stats demonstrate not only Ronaldo is a big game player but how he is far above most other world-class players with the exception of Messi in big games.
Now it’s time to discuss the final narrative, which is that Ronaldo just puts up stats and doesn’t make his teams better. Well that might be the easiest stat to disprove. Here is Manchester United’s CL record when they had a world-class Ronaldo in their side and th years after he left.
With Ronaldo:
2006-07: Semi-finals of the CL, lost to Milan 5-3 on aggregate
2007-08: Champions Defeated Chelsea 6-5 on penalties in a final which Ronaldo scored their only goal.
2008-09: Final Lost 2-0 to a Messi-inspired Barce side.
Without Ronaldo:
2009-10 Quarter-finals: Lost on away goals to Bayern Munich
2010-11: Final Lost to another great Barca side
2011-12: Group stage lost to Basel on the final day to exit the CL
2012-13: Round of 16 Lost to a CR7 inspired Real Madrid 3-2 on aggregate
2013-14: Quarter-finals: Lost to Bayern Munich 4-2 on aggregate.
2015-16: Group stage: Lost to Wolfsburg 3-2 on the final day
2017_18: Round of 16 Lost to Sevilla 2-1 on aggregate
*Man United didn’t qualify for the CL in 2014-15 or 2016-17.
Manchester United when they had Ronaldo at his best for them reached 3 straight Champions League semi-finals. They reached 2 consecutive CL finals, the first club to do that in the 21st century. The club had finally broken their 9-year Champions League drought when they beat Chelsea to lift their 3rd Champions League. However what is fascinating is what happened after Ronaldo left the club.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrating winning the Champions league with Manchester United
Although the club retained the majority of their core players (Van der Sar, Vidic, Carrick, Rooney, Park, Nani, Giggs, Evra, Scholes, and Berbatov) and kept Sir Alex Ferguson for 4 more seasons they were unable to replicate their European success. They reached one final, one quarter-final, one second round appearance, and had one group-stage exit. This is with Sir Alex still at the helm, this with the fact that United finished no lower than 2nd in the EPL in any of his final four seasons and won the league twice. This team wasn’t a bad side yet they failed to consistently deliver in the Champions League post-Ronaldo leaving. His exit didn’t make United better it made United unable to win another Champions League even with Ferguson at the helm. Another thing that sticks out is that with Ronaldo in his 6 season stay at United, Ferguson reached 2 finals and won the Champions League once. In the other 21 years at the helm Ferguson reached 2 finals and won 1 Champions League, so Ronaldo was responsible for half of Ferguson’s CL totals and final appearances. He clearly made Manchester United better.
Post-Ferguson United’s decline only got worse, as the club has failed to reach a Champions League semi-final since 2011, and has only been in one quarter-final post Sir Alex’s departure. The club without question would do better in the CL even with the managerial merry-go-round if they had a player of Ronaldo’s caliber. The proof is Real Madrid, who before Ronaldo were a punch-line in the Champions League.
Ronaldo celebrating scoring his 3rd goal against Wolfsburg in the 2015-16 Champions League quarterfinal.
Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Roma, Liverpool. What do all of these clubs have in common? They all knocked Real Madrid of the Champions League before the semi-final from 2004 to 2009. Until Ronaldo arrived Real hadn’t even reached a quarter-final in 5 years. Although Lyon did knockout Real in the Round of 16 in 2010, the trend of early exits in the Champions League soon ended. The next 8 seasons Real Madrid has won 3 Champions Leagues becoming the first side to win 2 straight CL’s last season. In addition the club has made 7 straight semi-finals which is a competition record, and have made 8 straight trips to the quarter-finals.
2010-11: Semi-final Lost 3-1 on aggregate to Barca
2011-12: Semi-final Lost on penalties to Bayern
2012-13: Semi-final Lost to Dortmund 4-3 on aggregate
2013-14: Champion Beat Atletico Madrid 4-1 to win the CL
2014-15: Semi-final Lost to Juventus 3-2 on aggregate
2015-16: Champion Beat Atletico Madrid 5-3 on penalties
2016-2017: Champions Beat Juventus 4-1 in the final
2017-18: Quarter-finals Tournament did not end at the time of writing.
Real Madrid’s entire culture shifted post-Ronaldo. His goals, assists, and leadership brought Real to an entirely new level. Despite often times losing out to Barca in the league, Real has thrived in Europe. It has been their way to collect major trophies despite Barca’s dominance in the league. And these accomplishments on the continent have made up for some of Real’s domestic shortcomings, as they have more Champions Leagues (3) than league titles (2) since Ronaldo joined the club.
His performances in certain games for Real stand out and has saved Real’s skin the tournament. His goal against Dortmund in Real’s 3-0 home win in 2014 is underrated, if he doesn’t score that goal, Dortmund would have taken Real to extra-time and might have eliminated them from the tournament. In fact he missed the second leg due to an injury and Di Maria missed a penalty that would have killed the tie, a penalty that a healthy Ronaldo would have almost certainly converted. Then in the 2013 Round of 16 match against Manchester United Ronaldo scored both home and away to help Real squeak past United 3-2. Despite not playing at his optimum best his 2 goals were the difference between 2 evenly matched sides. The 2014-2015 Round of 16 match-up between Real and Schalke is the most under the radar example of Ronaldo bailing Real out. Real barely squeaked by an average Schalke side 5-4 over the two legs, but Ronaldo scored 3 times and assisted Marcelo’s goal. If Ronaldo doesn’t score one of those 3 goals Real are out in the Round of 16 to Schalke which would have cost Ancelotti his job. The goals Ronaldo scored against Dortmund and Schalke saved Ancelotti from being sacked at those times, and propelled Real into the semis twice and to become champions in 2014.
But the most important games of Ronaldo’s career in the Champions League came under Zidane. With Real trailing Wolfsburg 2-0 in the quarterfinals in 2015-16 they needed a 3 goal win to progress. Ronaldo putting the team on his back scored a hat-trick and dragged Madrid into another semi-final. Not only did this save Zidane;s job but it propelled the team to win another Champions League that season, with Ronaldo scoring the decisive penalty in the shootout against Atletico. In 2016-17 he was even awe-inspiring in the knockout stages against Napoli, Bayern, Atletico, and Juventus he scored 10 goals and had 2 assists in 7 games. He almost by himself carried Madrid past Bayern scoring 5 times over the two legs, including a hat-trick at home. Against Atletico he scored a hat-trick at home to effectively kill off their chances in the first leg. In the final Ronaldo was decisive scoring twice to help Real become the first side to defend the Champions League since AC Milan in 1990.
Ronaldo kissing the Champions League trophy.
The impact of Ronaldo in the Champions League is nothing short of remarkable. He changed 2 separate teams fortunes forever. He created the modern Madrid dynasty, and helped Manchester United become a force in Europe again. He has won the tournament 4 times and reached 5 finals. His sides have reached 10 semi-finals in 10 of the last 12 seasons, and 11 quarter-finals in 12 seasons. He transforms good sides into great sides, great sides into legendary sides. That’s what makes him a top 5 player ever, his unique ability to lift teams in spite of form into greatness. He has changed Sir Alex’s legacy, with 2 Champions Leagues no one doubts his greatness in Europe. But if he had only won one, his legacy would be damaged, after all Rafa Benitez and Roberto Di Matteo have one so he would be seen in a different light. Same with Ancelotti who had his reputation enhanced at Real because of his Champions league win. If they go out to Dortmund in 2014 he would have been fired and seen as a failure. Same with Zidane if he didn’t produce that magical night against Wolfsburg, he would probably be gone and seen as a failure. If Ronaldo wasn’t so decisive maybe Bayern, Atleti, Chelsea, Juventus would have won more Champions Leagues. Maybe Bayern would have been a dynasty under Pep instead of never winning a CL. In a different world Juve would have their long awaited Champions League. Atletico might have multiple as the only side to knockout Atleti in the CL 4 of the last 5 seasons was Real Madrid led by Ronaldo. The impact of Ronaldo stretches beyond managers, teams and goes to presidents. Would Real have 3 Champions Leagues without Ronaldo? Very unlikely. The second galaticos project would be not much different than the first if Ronaldo wasn’t at Real. Maybe Real would only win 1 Champions league title and struggle domestically making Perez seem just as incompetent as the last time. Maybe instead of being patient with Mourinho, Ancelotti, and Zidane he fires managers too early and too often. Perez’s legacy at Real is much more secure because he helped the club win 4 Champions League titles in his nearly 15 years as Madrid president, but without Ronaldo those titles would be much less. For his impact on clubs, managers, and legacies that I argue that Ronaldo might be the most important figure in the history of the Champions League. There hasn’t been a player who impacted the clubs as much as he has, and changed the legacies of teams like Ronaldo has done. What his record in the Champions League does is reflect how misguided the narratives surrounding Ronaldo truly are. A player that makes this sort of impact cannot be selfish, or a big-game choker, or be a liability to his team. His impact is unquestionably positive and these critiques are based on bias and not his actual performance. But then again if his critics analyzed his performance they would have to recognize that he’s an all-time great, especially in his favorite tournament the Champions League.
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